Ventilating system

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a ventilating system ( 1 ) for a dashboard ( 2 ) in a motor vehicle or similar. Said ventilation device comprises an airduct ( 3 ) for guiding air and an adjustment device ( 4 ) for directing air guided to the airduct. The adjusting device also comprises a outlets for discharging the flow of air into the passenger compartment of the motor vehicle. Said adjusting device is embodied in such a manner that in a first displacement state (a) thereof, the flow of air guided to the passenger compartment of the vehicle exits only from first outlets ( 6 ) and in a second displacement state (b) said air exits only through second outlets ( 7 ).

The present invention relates to a ventilation means for an instrumentpanel of a motor vehicle or likewise. {PRIVAT }

Various demands are made on a ventilation means. Thus for example in theregion below the windscreen, in motor vehicles, it is useful to providea diffuse flow which does not flow directly onto the vehicle passengers.On the other hand it may be desirable to directly blow cold air onto thevehicle passengers, e.g. in summer, and warm air in winter.

Several concepts for ventilation means are known in order to fulfillthese demands.

On the one hand it is possible to provide small-pored openings in aninstrument panel for producing a diffuse flow. Additionally, apart fromthese, one may also provide lamella-like openings which by way ofsetting the inclination of the lamellae, produce an airflow running inthe desired direction. The disadvantage of such an arrangement howeverlies in the fact due to this one requires relatively much space on theinstrument panel and that because of this, in particular with modernexpensive vehicles, surfaces elsewhere are very difficult to be able tobe used (such as for large-surfaced screens of a navigation devices,etc).

For this reason the German published patent application DE 44 03 096 A1suggests a different concept. Here, a single air duct for leading air isshown. At its exit cross section, the air duct is provided with anangled component which is mounted in an articulated manner and which isprovided with flow-exit openings for the exit of the airflow into theinner space of a vehicle. In a first position, a plate of the angledcomponent spans the exit cross section of the air duct so that a diffuseairflow may only escape through small openings in this plate. On foldingout the angled component, a directed flow may escape through an openangle which is provided with lamellae.

Although this component has the feature that diffuse as well as adirected flow may escape from the same air duct, with a low spacerequirement, it is however a disadvantage that when the angularcomponent is opened, apart from the directed flow, the flow through thesmall openings for producing a diffuse air layer continues to escape. Anunordered flow pattern arises on account of this, the alignment of theairflow from the lamellae sections is disturbed (interrupted) andfurthermore one requires unnecessarily strong ventilators which mustproduce the diffuse airflow which indeed is not required.

Proceeding from the disadvantages of these known ventilation means, itis the object of the present invention to create a ventilation meanswhich on the one hand saves space and may be manufactured moreeconomically, and on the other hand permits a strict separation betweene.g. a purely directed airflow as well as a primarily diffuse airflow.

This object is achieved by a ventilation means according to claim 1.

By way of the fact that in a first movement condition of the adjustmentmeans, the airflow directed towards the inside of the vehicle only flowsout through first flow exit openings and in a second movement conditiononly through second flow exit openings, one achieves a clear separationbetween the flow types. Thus e.g. it is possible in the first movementcondition to use flow exit openings of a smaller diameter for thethrough flow which produce a diffuse flow on the side of the vehicleinterior. By way of changing the adjustment means into the secondmovement condition, one may then exclusively activate the second flowexit openings so that these (if they are designed lamella-like) permitan essentially directed flow.

At the same time the advantages of a space-saving arrangement and aninexpensive manufacturing possibility are retained in their completescope, and no separate air ducts are necessary in order to produce thedifferent flow types. The ventilation means remains compact and thussufficient space remains for further means such as navigation means,etc.

A particularly advantageous embodiment envisages first flow exitopenings for producing a diffuse flow on account of the nature of theiropenings, and second flow exit openings which are advantageouslydesigned as openings between lamellae, for achieving a directed flow. Itis of course also possible to provide both types of flow exit openingsin each case with lamellae or in each case with holes having a smallarea.

A particularly advantageous further formation of the present inventionenvisages a flow exit plate which is mounted on a fixed joint in anarticulated manner to comprise first flow exit openings, whichadvantageously are designed as flow exit openings for producing adiffuse flow. With this, in a first movement condition, the flow exitplate essentially spans the air duct so that an outflow of a purelydiffuse airflow occurs. Furthermore, a control plate mounted on bothsides in an articulated manner is provided, wherein the one side of thecontrol plate is mounted in an articulated manner to the flow exit plateand the other side of the control plate is mounted in an articulatedmanner to a linear guide. With this it becomes possible for the controlplate on folding up the flow exit plate (i.e. when the flow exit plateno longer spans the exit cross section of the air duct) thus to therelease the path for the air flowing from the air duct. At the same timethe control plate is to be arranged such that the control plate forms awall of the air duct so that the air may exclusively flow past thecontrol plate into the vehicle interior without coming into contact withthe flow exit plate and its openings having a small area. At the sametime it is particularly advantageous if lamellae are provided in theopen, angled region which results on folding out the flow exit plate,between which then several second flow exit openings are located (thusmore or less instead of a single large flow exit opening). With this, adirection setting of the airflow flowing through the lamellae is givenby way of the lamellae. At the same time, the control plate with regardto flow technology, represents a separation between first flow exitopenings (small-area holes) and second flow exit openings (openingsbetween the lamellae).

A particularly advantageous embodiment form envisages the first flowexit openings being designed such that by way of increasing theintensity of the airflow, the adjustment means may be moved from a firstinto a second movement condition. This is due to the fact that the flowresistance through the small-area holes (first flow exit openings) inthe first movement condition is very much higher than the flowresistance of the second flow openings. It thus may occur that with anincrease in the flow intensity, the flow exit plate is quasi foldedup/open and thus the system seeks the condition with the lowest flowresistance (thus the second movement condition). This procedure may ofcourse be furthermore encouraged with regard to design by way ofsuitably arranged springs.

It is further possible to change the exit direction of the airflow fromthe second exit openings (thus the openings between the lamellae) by wayof the intensity of the airflow. This e.g. is possible in that aseparating airflow is separated off from the air duct, which e.g. flowslaterally on the lamellae and thus ensures their adjustment. Onetherefore succeeds in providing an adjustment possibility for thelamellae (without a cost-intensive electric motor requiringmaintenance). The intensity of the airflow here serves as the controlvariable for which the ventilator motor which is present in any casewith its [closed loop control] forms the basis. Thus e.g. for the drivertravelling on his own, it becomes possible to carry out an adjustment ofthe lamellae by way of simply upwardly adjusting the ventilator withouthaving to undertake manual measures which would be dangerous whentravelling, e.g. at the front-seat passenger side.

In this manner it is furthermore possible to create a so-calledreciprocating operation by way of a control means for the temporarilychangeable control of the intensity of the airflow, which thus producesa different inclination of the lamellae due to the changes in the flowintensity and thus may ensure a uniform ventilation of the total innerspace of the vehicle without expensive servo-motors.

At the same time, the instrument panel of a motor vehicle, essentiallyin its central upper region, but also in the region of the A-columns,particularly lends itself as a particularly suitable location for aventilation means according to the invention.

Further advantageous designs of the present invention are specified inthe other dependent claims.

The present invention is now explained by way of several figures. Thereare shown in:

FIGS. 1 a to 1 c a sectioned representation of a ventilation meansaccording to the invention, in an instrument panel of a motor vehicle,

FIG. 2 the cross section of a ventilation means according to theinvention, in detail.

FIG. 1 a shows two ventilation means 1 according to the invention, in aninstrument panel of a motor vehicle. For an improved overview, only theright half of the instrument panel is shown sectioned. Both ventilationmeans 1 are located in a folded out condition in which a directedairflow out of lamellae openings is possible.

FIG. 1 b shows the folded-in condition (in the following calledcondition a) for the middle ventilation means, with which a diffuse flowgets into the vehicle interior through small openings in the surface ofthe flow exit plate 9.

FIG. 1 c again shows the folded-out condition of the flow exit plate 9in detail, with which an exit flow through the lamellae openingsdirected into the interior is effected (this in the following isindicated as condition b).

FIG. 2 shows the cross section through the ventilation means accordingto the invention.

On the left half of the picture one may see a separated-off auxiliaryair duct 14 through which air in the direction 15 reaches into thevehicle interior through a diffuser. In the following however theventilation means 1 according to the invention in the right half of thepicture is explained. This is part of an instrument panel 2 of a motorvehicle. It comprises an air duct 3 which widens to the top, for leadingair from a blower to the interior of a vehicle. Furthermore anadjustment means 4 is provided for controlling air led to the air duct3.

It is to be noted that two movement conditions of the adjustment device4 are shown above one another in FIG. 2. This on the one hand is thefirst movement condition indicated at a, with which the flow exit plate9 essentially covers or spans the exit cross section of the air duct 2,and on the other hand the second movement condition b, with which theflow exit plate 9 is shown in the folded out condition and no longerspans the exit cross section of the air duct 3.

The adjustment means 4 amongst other things comprises a flow exit plate9. This comprises first flow exit openings 6 which have a small-areacross section, and with a flow of air in the direction of the vehicleinterior, here produce an essentially diffuse airflow. The flow exitplate 9 is mounted in an articulated manner to a fixed joint 8. The flowexit plate 9 furthermore at its side which is distant to the fixed joint8 (to be seen on the right at the top in condition b) comprises afurther joint which connects the flow exit plate 9 to the control plate10 in an articulated manner. The control plate 10 on its oppositelylying side is again mounted or guided in an articulated manner in aslightly curved linear guide rail 13. In the movement condition b, thisjoint is located at the top dead centre of the guide rail 13. In themovement condition a, this joint is located at the bottom dead centre ofthe guide rail 13. The control plate 10 is designed in an essentiallyairtight manner so that in the movement condition a, the right duct wallis formed by the control plate 10 and thus the airflow flows essentiallyperpendicularly and diffusely out of the flow exit plate 9.

The flow exit plate 9 furthermore comprises an additional section 17arranged at an angle which is separated from the first flow exitopenings 6 by the control plate 10 and in the movement condition a islocated in a dead space 18 of the air duct 3 through which no air flowsin this condition.

In the following, the movement condition b is dealt with. With this, asalready indicated, the flow exit plate 9 is in its position angledupwards. The section 17 of the flow exit plate 9 projecting at an angleat the same time is located with its lamellae 7 in the region of theopening angle. The control plate 10 ensures that in this second movementcondition air only flows out through the second flow exit openingsdesigned as lamella openings. With this, the essentially airtightcontrol plate 10 represents a left limitation wall for the exiting flow.With this flow it is the case of a directed flow, the lamellae 19 areadjustably arranged so that an adjustment of the flow direction into theinterior of the vehicle may be effected in various manners.

The first flow exit openings 6 for creating a diffuse flow into theinterior of the vehicle effect a very much higher flow resistance on theprior arranged blower of the ventilation means which is not shown here.The adjustment means 4 as a whole is designed such that with a thresholdvalue of the intensity of the airflow, this is moved upwards with itsflow exit plate 9 and thus seeks the condition of the smallest possibleflow resistance. At the same time it is possible, such as by way of aspring mechanism, to permit a distinct switching from the first into thesecond movement condition. Furthermore it lies within the framework ofthe invention to achieve an adjustment of the lamellae 19 and thus asetting of the direction of directed flow through the second flow exitopenings 7 by way of further airflows which have not been shown. Thismay also be effected in the already mentioned reciprocating operation inaccordance with the control means according to the invention.

1. A ventilation means for an instrument panel of a motor vehicle orlikewise, comprising an air duct for leading in air, with an adjustmentmeans for controlling air led to the air duct, wherein the adjustmentmeans comprises flow exit openings for the flow exit of an airflow intothe interior of the vehicle, and wherein the adjustment means isdesigned such that in a first movement condition of the adjustmentmeans, the airflow directed towards the interior of the vehicle onlyflows out through first flow exit openings and in a second movementcondition only flows out through second flow exit openings.
 2. Aventilation means according to claim 1, wherein the first flow exitmeans are provided for achieving a diffuse flow and the second flow exitopenings are provided for achieving a directed flow:
 3. A ventilationmeans according to claim 1, wherein a flow exit plate which is mountedon a fixed joint in an articulated manner is provided with first flowexit openings and the flow exit plate in the first movement conditionspans the exit cross section of the air duct.
 4. A ventilation meansaccording to claim 3, wherein this comprises a control plate which ismounted on both sides in an articulated manner, wherein one side of thecontrol plate is mounted in an articulated manner on the flow exit plateand the other side is mounted in an articulated manner on a linearguide.
 5. A ventilation means according to claim 4, wherein the flowexit plate on the side which is distant to the fixed joint comprisessecond flow exit openings which are arranged at an angle to theremaining flow exit plate and are located between the lamellae.
 6. Aventilation means according to claim 5, wherein first and second flowexit openings are separated by the control plate
 7. A ventilation meansaccording to claim 1, wherein first flow exit openings are designed suchthat by way of increasing the intensity of the airflow, the adjustmentmeans may be conveyed from the first into the second movement condition.8. A ventilation means according to claim 1, wherein the exit directionof the airflow out of the second flow exit openings may be changed byway of the intensity of the airflow.
 9. A ventilation means according toclaim 8, wherein a control means is provided for the temporallychangeable control of the intensity of the airflow.
 10. A ventilationmeans according to claim 1, wherein this is arranged on the upper sideof an instrument panel of a motor vehicle in an essentially centralmanner.